Version 0.4

An upcoming game about Electricity, Magnetism, and Cephalopods
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testtubegames
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Version 0.4

Post by testtubegames »

Okay, the next version is posted in the Humble Widget. Lots of bug fixes and all-around improvements.

The Electric Shocktopus 0.4

Changes:
-Changed how the screen-size works. Instead of just 3 discrete resolutions, you can now scale the game up and down as much as you'd like.
-Full screen should work better, too.
-Level Editor improvements, including...
-Rectangle tool - hold shift to drag out a rectangle where you'll build a bunch of something.
-Stars now match with the levels, not being fooled if you delete a level
-You can't go past the last level in the editor (which led to a crash in previous versions)
-You can now add sign posts
-Copy and pasting code now done with buttons only (since the text inputs were more trouble than they were worth)
-Switch creation is now easier, with more in-editor clues about what to do
-Fixed a bug where some tiles wouldn't appear until you played the level (guns, magnetic fields, etc)
-You can now use both shift keys
-Currents don't weirdly stick around anymore
-Fixed a couple typos
-Stars that are triggered by switches now work (they won't freeze the game, like before)
-The game should (in theory) run a bit more smoothly, with less lag-spiking when you charge yourself
-The 'big' version of the icon only kicks in when the icon is printed quite large
-A myriad of little bug fixes along the way

Still to come:
-This version is a "Development Build", which means it comes packaged with debug tools. The standard "Release Build" kept crashing on me, some Unity bug. Once that is solved, I'll be able to put a release build on Humble. This means the game might run a bit slower than it otherwise would (I still had no problems, though), and occasionally a red error message might pop up on the screen. Ah, well
-I haven't dealt with the "looks-like-you're-floating-on-air-when-you're-standing-really-far-over-on-a-corner" problem yet
-An easier way to share levels. Perhaps a 'submit level' button, and a set of user-made levels posted on a server for people to play.
-A way to transcribe old level codes (from the flash version of the game), so we can play all those cool levels that exfret and others made
-A ton of other improvements

-Edit-
Known Bugs/Suggestions:
-"Development Build"
-Screen starts too big on some monitors
-Full screen doesn't work on Windows
-Introduce trail path to the player, feels like it could be a debug right now
-There are tiles just to the left and right of the screen that you can interact with/stand on. Get rid of 'em.
-Copyright
-Sun pun doesn't fit anymore :)
-'Secret' levels make you reset the level you left -- boo
-Secret level #2 is broken
-Shortcut icon on Windows
-Walkthrough and FAQ posted on website
-Level 30 - random switch square
-Export/Import levels to/from text file
-Music turns on/off/switches songs at weird times
-Sound levels need to be fixed on some of the sfx
-Hint button appears in *all* levels, in some fashion or another
-Adding switches in the editor is still confusing
-Sporadic non-saving of level progress
-Hide/fade the foreground when editing the background
-A bug where an improperly entered level code can cause the 'new' button to disappear, making it impossible to add levels.
-Need a way to reset *all* level data, including all the made levels
-Stars stay on screen even when in edit mode
-Add an optional 'death ticker' so we can keep track of it on Feel Bad Friday videos
-Not enough colors of switches (also I need to set a limit for the switches, to prevent crashing... since it can mean 2^n E-field calculations, for instance)
-Switches still having strange behavior in the editor, particularly with buttons
-Closing Fullscreen mode makes the game crash on Mac
-Robo-yeti sfx
-Can add tiles above or below screen, which causes an error
-Easier way to change level titles
-Lots of stars lags the game
-Optimize so we don't get too-many-vertices error messages
-Missiles should flip switches
-Memory Leaks
A Random Player
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Re: Version 0.4

Post by A Random Player »

Ok, first impressions:
Starting TES up, the window was a bit too big (a bit hid under my taskbar). Try subtracting some pixels from the read resolution?
My progress was cleared, of course.
The stars are changed to look more like starfish. I felt that the symmetrical stars looked a bit better, but this way ties more to the ocean theme. (Though some people may not see it like that at first, instead seeing it as "ew gooey star shape".)
The level editor is a lot better, just by messing with the functionality.
I left TES running while I left the computer for a minute, and when I got back it had restarted. 99.9% sure it wasn't TES, but submitting for now just in case.
---
Continuing:
I like the star collect animation. (Actually, it's a tad bit slow, but you could probably leave it as is, claim to change it, and I'd be satisfied :P)
I assume, of course, that the charge trail is just from the debug version. It might not. Feels like it is, since it doesn't clear upon restarting the level (until the usual timed clear).
(Ummm.. is it?)
---
Feels a little faster, but it might be just me.
---
Ok, reasonably sure the physics's changed a bit. Where in one of my levels I needed to charge-walljump 3 times, now I only need 2. (And I die after forgetting to stop running.)
---
Bug: At the bottom of the screen, the tiles extend one more to either side, meaning even if the floor is spikes, you can hide on the edge.
---
While I'm at it, update the copyright at the bottom of the main page?
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NealCruco
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Re: Version 0.4

Post by NealCruco »

Ok, I downloaded v0.4 and reached approximately where I was before my copy of the game started glitching out. (No bugs or typos found in this version yet!)
Feedback:
As ARP said, when the game first launches, it's too big for the screen. Fortunately, it remembers the screen size from the last session, so you only have to resize once.
I like the new collectible design- it looks less generic and more fitting of the game. (I'm still calling them stars, though.) I also like how missiles explode into bits when they hit something, rather than just disappearing in a flash of light and a puff of smoke.
You might want to change one of the random messages that pops up when you complete a level with one star. "The yellow one is the sun" doesn't really apply when you're collecting starfish instead of generic yellow stars. The sun is a star, but it is not a starfish.
When you complete a secret level and get returned to a regular one, don't reset the star count for the regular one, especially when the entrance to the secret one is right above the regular level's exit. That's cruel.
Full screen does not work, period. The Maximize button does change to Restore Down, but the window size does not change.
Haven't tried the level editor yet.
There's no built-in shortcut icon, though that could be because this is a debug build. I just manually set it again.
Whether or not the charge trails are debug-only, I don't mind them. In fact, I got used to them so quickly that I might actually miss them now. If they're intended, however, please give an option to turn them off- I can say with reasonable certainty that some people won't like them. Same with the hint icon appearing in the lower left corner.
And speaking of the hint icon...are you seriously planning to have an FAQ and full walkthroughs for this game? That's a departure from Higgs, VR, and BB. At any rate, those links only lead to TTG's home page. I'm assuming that's because the game is still in beta? Or are you being cruel again and telling players to find or request the help they need on their own?

Well, I think that's all the feedback I have right now. Overall, this version is much improved.
Last edited by NealCruco on Fri Mar 13, 2015 5:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
A Random Player
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Re: Version 0.4

Post by A Random Player »

There's a random switch-spike in level 30 - Second spike on the group of 4 on the right has a yellow square.
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NealCruco
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Re: Version 0.4

Post by NealCruco »

I feel stupid right now...how do you set the title of a user-created level?
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testtubegames
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Re: Version 0.4

Post by testtubegames »

Thanks for the great feedback, you two! I'm adding all the suggestions to the to-do list.

First off, thanks for both noticing that the screen was too big. I guess I never noticed since it 'remembers' your last size... and so it hadn't happened to me for a while. Easy fix, now that I know it happens.

Also, the game reset? Shoot. It shouldn't have done that. I'll need to look into that issue closely - don't want this happening every (or any) time I update.

The path trail is *not* something I was planning on having merely for debug. I like having it in the game since it can help you see what's going on. Sometimes if you're moving around fast in a magnetic field, it could be hard to notice you're making a loop-de-loop, for instance. But with the path behind you, you can see it directly. Also, I don't have it clear upon death, since maybe you can learn something about how you died from your path you left behind. But I'm hearing that it feels a bit debuggy, which isn't good either. *hmm*

Star collection animation: I'll speed it up ;)... no, seriously, I have some ideas there. More object pooling and such.

...the physics is different? My goodness, I hope not! But I believe you. Do you have a particular level that you noticed it on? I'd like to test it out myself - I've got a copy of version 0.3, too... since that is *not* something I want to have happen. These levels (and yours too) are pretty precisely built.

Secret levels mess with your star count? Ah, yes. I should really fix that finally, it feels like punishment for finding the secret.

And yeah, I'm planning to have a walkthrough of some kind. That way people won't have to ask about individual levels (like for the other games). But it hasn't been built yet, as you can see.
NealCruco wrote:I feel stupid right now...how do you set the title of a user-created level?
Oh, shoot, I messed that up. Basically, you have to edit the level code directly ([The Electric Shocktopus-"PUT TITLE HERE"-eNqr1iEJGFnqkA...]). But since I made that text field copy/paste ONLY, you can't edit it in-game anymore. Boo. I didn't realize I was making that harder. I'll add in a text field (much like we have for hints) that you *can* edit in-game.

So to set the level right now, you'd have to copy the level text, paste it in a text editor, change it there, and then 'load' it back into the game via a paste.

Which reminds me, of course, I would like an easier way to share and load, much like we have for the Gravity Simulator, where you can just put your levels in an external text file and they'd load right up. But before all that, yeah, I'll fix the title issue.
A Random Player
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Re: Version 0.4

Post by A Random Player »

testtubegames wrote: Also, the game reset? Shoot. It shouldn't have done that. I'll need to look into that issue closely - don't want this happening every (or any) time I update.
The game reset was because I simply deleted the old Shocktopus folder and downloaded the new one, since I wasn't sure how I should replace files (or if any files besides the app itself needed to be replaced). Probably a really obvious method, though.
The path trail is *not* something I was planning on having merely for debug. I like having it in the game since it can help you see what's going on. Sometimes if you're moving around fast in a magnetic field, it could be hard to notice you're making a loop-de-loop, for instance. But with the path behind you, you can see it directly. Also, I don't have it clear upon death, since maybe you can learn something about how you died from your path you left behind. But I'm hearing that it feels a bit debuggy, which isn't good either. *hmm*
For the trails, I suppose a note acknowledging their existence when charges are introduced would be enough (level 3). I think it looks cool, but it does feel slightly debuggy initially. (Once you're used to it, it's actually quite useful.) And it would appear useless for quite a few levels until magnetic fields are introduced.
Star collection animation: I'll speed it up ;)... no, seriously, I have some ideas there. More object pooling and such.
Yeah, now that I'm used to it it's not really too slow or fast anymore, it's just the star-collect animation.
Oh and check this out:

Code: Select all

[The Electric Shocktopus-"It's Full Of Stars"-eNqr1oEDYxMdAsDIclTFqIphosLYFKuMIWWwulqpREknOhaIqpXSQKxaACj3mm0=]
...the physics is different? My goodness, I hope not! But I believe you. Do you have a particular level that you noticed it on? I'd like to test it out myself - I've got a copy of version 0.3, too... since that is *not* something I want to have happen. These levels (and yours too) are pretty precisely built.
Well, now I'm thinking most of the physics differences were just perception issues combined with luck (lol brain y u do dis to me); trying after a few hours, it now does take 3 jumps to reach the top in my level. Similarly, I can't see any difference in other levels, and beat them basically how I did in 0.3. Doesn't seem like anything you would have changed would have affected physics. (I'll probably post a test-level soon.)
Secret levels mess with your star count? Ah, yes. I should really fix that finally, it feels like punishment for finding the secret.

And yeah, I'm planning to have a walkthrough of some kind. That way people won't have to ask about individual levels (like for the other games). But it hasn't been built yet, as you can see.
You all are talking about this hint icon in the lower left... I don't see it? (And I've tried dying many times - Level 15.)
$1 = 100¢ = (10¢)^2 = ($0.10)^2 = $0.01 = 1¢ [1]
Always check your units or you will have no money!
NealCruco
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Re: Version 0.4

Post by NealCruco »

I'm currently working on my first level- which I'll call 4A4C. (Are you ready for a mass octopus sacrifice?) (Edit: Level finished! See the Megathread.) As a result, I have some more feedback.
It would be great if the level would reset when you click the edit box, instead of when you close it.
I still cannot figure out how to set up switches. I place the switch, click on it, and...then what? My experiments haven't yielded success.
If you play a level, collect at least one star, then enter edit mode before finishing the level, the gathered stars don't disappear from the screen.
If you edit a level, then play it, all music disappears game-wide. You have to either turn the music off and back on or relaunch to get it back.
Also, I think you missed this comment.
NealCruco wrote: Full screen does not work, period. The Maximize button does change to Restore Down, but the window size does not change.
Since posting that, I've seen that Maximize sometimes does produce a change, but only to another window size- sometimes bigger, sometimes smaller. I never get actual full screen.

Now, some feedback on the feedback to the feedback:
testtubegames wrote: Also, the game reset? Shoot. It shouldn't have done that. I'll need to look into that issue closely - don't want this happening every (or any) time I update.
It reset because there was no game data to load. I didn't copy v0.4 over v0.3; I copied v0.4 into a new folder alongside v0.3. I'm keeping v0.3 for the spontaneous level unlock it experienced.
testtubegames wrote: The path trail is *not* something I was planning on having merely for debug. I like having it in the game since it can help you see what's going on. Sometimes if you're moving around fast in a magnetic field, it could be hard to notice you're making a loop-de-loop, for instance. But with the path behind you, you can see it directly. Also, I don't have it clear upon death, since maybe you can learn something about how you died from your path you left behind. But I'm hearing that it feels a bit debuggy, which isn't good either. *hmm*
If you hadn't told us this version was a debug build, we'd mostly likely see charge trails as a new feature, not a debug tool. Just give it some documentation and you're good.

Edit: Bug found! I attempted to access Level 22's secret level and was met with this. I couldn't see Shocktopus, of course, but he didn't make any noise either. Clicking the back button reloaded 22 as normal.
SPOILER
SPOILER_SHOW
The website decided this one was too big, so I had to use a lower-quality format.
The website decided this one was too big, so I had to use a lower-quality format.
bug.jpg (292.57 KiB) Viewed 19716 times
testtubegames wrote: Star collection animation: I'll speed it up ;)... no, seriously, I have some ideas there. More object pooling and such.
I don't see it as a problem. It took me forever before I even noticed an animation. You have to look at the right part of the screen to see it.
A Random Player wrote: You all are talking about this hint icon in the lower left... I don't see it? (And I've tried dying many times - Level 15.)
Open wide!
SPOILER
SPOILER_SHOW
The hint icon shown closed.
The hint icon shown closed.
hint1.png (383.91 KiB) Viewed 19719 times
The hint icon shown open.
The hint icon shown open.
hint2.png (375.83 KiB) Viewed 19719 times
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testtubegames
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Re: Version 0.4

Post by testtubegames »

A Random Player wrote:You all are talking about this hint icon in the lower left... I don't see it? (And I've tried dying many times - Level 15.)
The hint button doesn't pop up every level -- only some (~1/3) of the levels have hints. Level 15, for instance, doesn't have a hint. For the rest of the levels, I couldn't think of helpful hints. (Either the level relied on twitch motion, or the hint was already on a signpost in the game). You actually bring up an interesting point here... since the 'hint' also includes a link to the walkthrough, I should really have it pop up every level. Or at least make sure people have easy access to the walkthrough link.
NealCruco wrote:It would be great if the level would reset when you click the edit box...
I still cannot figure out how to set up switches...
If you play a level, collect at least one star, then enter edit mode...
If you edit a level, then play it, all music disappears game-wide...
Full screen does not work, period...
Hmm, thanks for letting me know the switches are still confusing. The basic explanation is: (1) add a switch to the level. (2) Click on the switch, and a box containing 'on'/'off' buttons should appear. The switch should also be highlighted. (3) Select a tile that you'd like to add to the switch (unallowed ones are greyed out, not every tile can be chained with a switch). (4) Click to add those tiles. If the switch box is set to 'on', these tiles will appear when the switch is 'on', and same for 'off'. (5) When you're done editing the switch, just close the switch box.

Sounds like I need to improve the UI to make it more self-explanatory (since I'd rather not have to write that full paragraph in-game :) ). If you have any suggestions about which parts confused you/stopped you, I'd be interested to hear it.

As for the rest of your bug-notes quoted above - I'll track those down. Out of curiosity, regarding the full screen bug, are you on Windows 8? Or another operating system? Are you using a single monitor, or are there external monitors involved?

Also, I'll make sure to mention the path-trail in the game. And maybe in the upcoming settings panel (note how the game tells you that you can remap your keys... and then gives you no method for doing that yet? Yeah. Whoops. Soon-to-come feature: settings panel.)

Level 22's secret level - you're right, that's completely broken at the moment. All the secret levels need some TLC (their main easter-egg feature is missing), but this one in particular simply doesn't work at all.
NealCruco
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Re: Version 0.4

Post by NealCruco »

testtubegames wrote: If you have any suggestions about which parts confused you/stopped you, I'd be interested to hear it.
I got to step 2 in your guide before having no idea what to do next. Does that help?
testtubegames wrote: Out of curiosity, regarding the full screen bug, are you on Windows 8? Or another operating system? Are you using a single monitor, or are there external monitors involved?
I am using Windows 7 and a single monitor.
testtubegames wrote: Level 22's secret level - you're right, that's completely broken at the moment. All the secret levels need some TLC (their main easter-egg feature is missing), but this one in particular simply doesn't work at all.
Would you mind showing us the level, since it never actually shows in the game?
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